California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the AB 1267 bill on October 2, 2026, officially establishing 18 as the absolute minimum age for marriage and domestic partnerships without exception, effective January 1, 2027. The decision positions California as the 18th U.S. state to completely outlaw underage marriage, replacing a legacy framework that previously permitted minors to wed with parental consent and judicial approval.
Legislative Push and the End of Judicial Exceptions
Authored by Democratic Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin of Santa Cruz, the new legislation strikes down statutory loopholes that allowed individuals under 18 to enter formal unions. Before this reform, California law allowed a person under 18 to marry with parental consent and judicial approval. Data compiled by the organization Global Hope 365 indicates approximately 35,000 minors married in California between 2000 and 2021, with the vast majority involving an adolescent girl marrying an adult man.
Governor Newsom emphasized that the measure represents a long-overdue safeguard for vulnerable youth. During the signing ceremony in Sacramento, Newsom stated that children in the state are now safer than ever.
Survivor Advocacy and High-Profile Testimony
The legislative momentum behind AB 1267 drew heavily from advocacy groups and individuals who experienced underage marriage firsthand. Assemblywoman Pellerin credited organizations such as Unchained At Last and the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls for driving the campaign. Survivors detailed the immense obstacles they faced in securing legal representation, fleeing households, or breaking free from adults who could facilitate the marriage.
The bill signing featured media personality and activist Courtney Stodden, who publicly campaigned for the restriction. Stodden shared personal context during the event, recounting how her parents authorized her marriage to actor Doug Hutchison when she was 16 years old and he was 51. Stodden praised the legislation for signaling to survivors that they should never have to endure such burdens, while vowing to continue advocacy until all 50 states enact total bans.
The National Landscape and Remaining State Loopholes
While California joins a group of states—including Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Michigan, Washington, Virginia, New Hampshire, Maine, Oregon, Missouri, and Oklahoma—that prohibit underage marriage entirely, the national picture remains fractured. 32 U.S. states still permit individuals under 18 to marry under specific statutory conditions.
This patchwork of state laws creates significant interstate discrepancies, affecting families moving between jurisdictions with differing legal thresholds. At the federal level, lawmakers introduced the Child Marriage Prevention Act in July to establish a uniform national minimum age of 18.
